Freedom tantalizingly close for Skakel

Neil Vigdor

Published 6:53 pm, Saturday, November 16, 2013

For more than a decade, Michael Skakel has been the embodiment of the perp walk.

But by week's end, the nephew of the late Robert F. Kennedy could take an once-unimaginable walk, unencumbered by ankle shackles, handcuffs and corrections officers.

Criminal defense experts say it's entirely conceivable that Skakel, whose conviction in the 1975 slaying of Greenwich teenager Martha Moxley was vacated by a judge last month, could become a free man during an upcoming bond hearing Thursday in state Superior Court in Stamford.

"I think that if they see the first time that he went to trial and he was responsible and showed up at all his court dates, he should be able to get bail," said Andrew Pappone, a staff attorney for the New England Innocence Project in Boston.The nonprofit organization, which specializes in wrongful conviction cases, is not associated with Skakel.

Skakel, 53, is serving 20 years to life in prison for bludgeoning Moxley with a golf club in their Belle Haven neighborhood on Halloween eve. Both were 15 at the time. An arrest warrant wasn't issued for Skakel until 2000, when he turned himself in and then was tried as an adult.

That could bode well for Skakel's legal team, which characterized him as a low flight risk in court filings.

"He's already shown that he's willing to face the piper," said Lindy Urso, criminal defense lawyer from Cos Cob who is not connected with the case. "In this day and age, where would he go?"

Under a broadly worded statute state lawmakers put on the books in 2008, Skakel could apply to be compensated by Connecticut taxpayers if the overturn of his conviction is upheld.

Public Act 08-143 allows for exonerated prisoners to seek compensation from the state's claims commissioner for loss of liberty, enjoyment of life, earnings and earning capacity, familial relationships and reputation. The law was enacted after the General Assembly awarded $5 million in 2007 to James Tillman, who served nearly 17 years in prison for a rape he was cleared of by new DNA evidence.

"He could recover a bunch of money for the time he spent in jail, nothing to repay the time that he lost," Pappone said of Skakel.

Dorthy Moxley, 81, a crusader for justice for her daughter, shuddered at the thought of Skakel receiving compensation. "I don't think he deserves one tiny penny," Moxley said. "He's cost the state of Connecticut a lot of money. I think that's out of the question."

A Connecticut judge -- not the same one who will determine whether Skakel gets bail -- granted the Kennedy kin a new trial on Oct. 23 in a landmark 136-page decision. The basis for the habeas corpus ruling was that Skakel was short-changed of an effective defense by his then-lawyer Michael "Mickey" Sherman, whom he accused of being so engrossed with the celebrity of the case that he left many stones unturned.

The state is appealing the ruling and opposes Skakel's release on bond.

"I'm hoping that he doesn't get out," Moxley said. "They have come up with no new evidence. This whole habeas corpus thing is Mickey Sherman. It's not whether Michael Skakel is guilty or not guilty."

Skakel's lawyers, who also did not respond to a message seeking comment, petitioned for bail to be capped at $500,000 for their high-profile client. They say he poses no danger to the Moxleys, who reside in New Jersey.

"I think he's got a reasonable chance of a bond being set and, I assume, with the means of the family, he's got a chance of walking out of there within a few hours to a day," Urso said.

If Skakel is released on bond, there's a high probability that he will be forced to abide by a number of conditions set by Judge Gary White, a former public defender who experts say could require Skakel to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet on his ankle, check in with the bail commissioner on a regular basis and avoid alcohol and illegal drugs. It's unclear where Skakel would reside while the appeals process plays out. A number of family members live out of state, including his 14-year-old son.

"He does not strike me as the type of person who's going to be gallivanting," Urso said. "He's just going to be very happy to be breathing fresh air again."